X-Jim
Imported Account
Feb 6, 2001, 5:38 PM
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VX2000 image edge artifact problem
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All you VX2000/ PD150 users out there....
I would really appreciate some feedback on this one. Just shot my first
week of theatre shooting with my VX2000 (six 70 minute performances, each on
Panasonic DVM80 cassettes on SP, not LP). 100's of previous shoots with my
"trusty but inferior" one chip 456. Surely I was quite impressed with the
rich colors and the added sense of dimension that this little 3 chip camera
offers; and for the most part, I feel the camera is designed extremely
well... However, I was very disturbed to notice an unacceptable level of
banding around the edges of my images in addition to the glimmering (more
than with my 456 I fear!) of certain dreaded costume combinations, notably
red and plaid. By "banding" I mean that I detect a vertically crawling pixel
pattern that appears like a drop shadow on some of the images (especially
thin vertical edges of objects).
The shaky colors and banding appeared to be reduced significantly when I
viewed the footage via the S out vs. the composite out of the VX2000.
However, I wonder if some of this banding artifact or color instability will
creep back into my images by the time I go into my NLE and back to VHS distribution.
Bottom Line: should I keep this nifty little camera? God forbid that it be
even possible that my SVHS 456 would have yielded an overall superior image,
especially since I can tweak the colors to get a much-closer-to 3 chip camera
look with my Studio One proc. amps. Am I crazy? Furthermore, when playing
back my VX2000 footage from the camera, I noticed a certain amount of digital
compression artifact when closely examining such things as sweaty forehead
creases. Are these kinds of artifacts as likely to appear if I was using a
DSR 300 or 500? Much of my work is capturing often inconsistently lit
theatrical performances. I've relied heavily on the 456's low light
capability in the past. I will say that the VX2000 is amazing in low light
and does not yield the noisy blacks associated with iris gain on such cameras
as the GL1. So low light performance is not the concern here.
I would love to purchase a couple more VX2000's/PD150's for my multicam
shoots but I'm not convinced that the investment would be worth the perceived
gain or "loss" ;). Right now I shoot multiple 456s, tweak/match colors if
necessary through clean proc. amps as I capture to NLE via S video from
Panasonic 1980 source decks (digital noise reduction ON), then directly from
NLE to VHS distribution.
Honestly, I'm quite frustrated with the limitations of the SVHS format - but
I can't imagine accepting the alternative level of compression artifact if I
go digital with the VX2000.
Perhaps part of the problem is playing the dv footage from my VX2000
camera. Would a non-camera DV deck (with tbc or dnr) solve some or all of my
problems? I did notice some strange glitches during playback on the VX2000
that were not actual tape dropouts (if I replayed that section again the
glitch would be gone). If this is the case, of course, the VX2000 becomes
useless as a reliable source deck for capturing to the Cassie, assuming one
would want to use any camera for this purpose in the first place.
FYI: Shooting manually with AE A /2.4 iris base/ adjusting iris during shoot
with side exposure dial/auto shutter off or on (seems to maintain 1/60th
either way with other settings as indicated)/ mounted on fluid bogen with
steady shot off.
Sorry for the long post.
Any and all feedback most appreciated. Thanks in advance,
Jim
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